


linking

by yamatsukkei



Series: hello tsukigoshi nation [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamatsukkei/pseuds/yamatsukkei
Summary: Kei doesn't care what anyone says, not even Yamaguchi. He does /not/ have a crush on Goshiki Tsutomu. And they do /not/ act a certain way with each other. They do not.
Relationships: Goshiki Tsutomu/Tsukishima Kei
Series: hello tsukigoshi nation [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600489
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	linking

**Author's Note:**

> hello tsukkigoshi nation im back with a surprise fic bc i got too many feelings for them last night
> 
> pls enjoy i didn't mean to snap but i did and i'm living for it

Kei doesn't care what anyone says, not even Yamaguchi. He does _n_ _ot_ have a crush on Goshiki Tsutomu. And they do _not_ act a certain way with each other. They do not.

Just because they met up with each other every week doesn't mean anything. Just because they tend to text and call a lot, that doesn't mean anything either.

He didn't think it would be like this, to be fair.

After that training camp at Shiratorizawa, he really didn't think he would get so taken with someone he's only met once before, and that was during a game, where there were so many other thoughts filling his mind. He does remember the way Goshiki seemed to stand out, through all the other players that zoomed and zipped around. But there was never any time to focus on him, because they had to get to nationals. They had to.

He recalls the way Goshiki was crying when he glanced over at the Shiratorizawa team after the end of the game, and the way his heart twisted. But everyone else's noise was so much louder, and Goshiki slinked away quietly, and that was that.

Kei spent a couple days thinking on it, but it eventually fell away from his mind as he continued on with his life.

And then the first years training camp happened. And he saw Goshiki again. And his thoughts about him came back, in full force. But he tried his best to focus on practice. The day they played together, aka the day he set for him during their 2-on-2, was probably one of the most important days, if only for the way he saw Goshiki fly.

Sure, Hinata can fly. He himself can fly. Yet Goshiki soared. After a successful set, despite the fact that it drifted, he got to see Goshiki grin as he slammed the ball down onto the other side with a straight. Goshiki was simple, in that a good kill in a game would get him hyped up, and usually, _normally_ , such a personality annoyed Kei.

Goshiki was the exception.

"Hey, nice set," complimented Goshiki, running up to him after the match ended. Which Kei wished he hadn't done, because he can't sit on these annoying feelings. "Even if it drifted, it was good enough!"

But, Kei was Kei. "Glad I could help you help us win our match, then."

It was worth it just to see Goshiki squirm, just a little, and he had to bite back a laugh. "It was a team effort! You're still awful at setting, then. If that's what you wanted to hear."

Oh, he does _not_ get to do that.

"And you're not as good at blocking as you could be, huh?" teased Kei, unable to hide his laugh this time. "You went for kill blocks more than soft blocks, but you couldn't even do that well."

Goshiki didn't take the bait this time, instead crossing his arms with a smirk. "You wanna teach me how to block, then? Since you're incredible at blocking yourself, seeing as how that's your position, and all. No wonder you're good at it."

Kei sputtered, just a little, and he hoped that he didn't see that. Judging by the ever growing grin on his face, it didn't seem to be so. "You have Tendou-san on your team, don't you? Have him teach you. I can't be around as often, and the two of you live here. His blocks are, well, they're not bad either."

Goshiki's bright smile should be considered illegal, he thinks.

"So, if you were on my team, you'd teach me? I'll have to ask your captain if I can steal you away, then! Tendou-senpai already has his hands full with Ushijima-senpai. So it'd be fine, right?"

He's so cheeky. Kei was in love. "T-That's _not_ what I–"

Goshiki hits his back with a laugh, before grabbing his phone. "And if this is about the whole "helping your rival" thing you went on about with Hinata, well, forget it! Besides," he grins seriously at him, with a fire in his eyes, and Kei felt his throat go dry. "You're going to Nationals, this time."

He didn't think he could say another word, with how astounded this boy made him feel, and he was glad for when he pressed his phone into his hands.

"Now, email address! You're going to teach me how to block like you later, Tsukishima!"

Whether it was the tiny voice of Yamaguchi in his mind pushing him to follow his heart, the way Goshiki was shining, expectant, or his own traitorous fingers that were already typing on autopilot, he had given him his email without a second thought.

Sending a message to him, Goshiki smiled genuinely, excited, and Kei looked at his own phone, seeing the message preview full of emoticons and exclamation marks. It was reminiscent of Hinata's way of typing, but he felt nothing but a giddiness run through his body from such a simple message. How terrible.

"Hey, stop flirting, you two! The match against the third years is starting soon, and you'll both be in the lineup!"

Kei was going to murder Hinata as soon as he got the chance to.

* * *

That was then. This was now. After endless questions from Yamaguchi, who would not leave him alone, it was all out on the table now, that he definitely has a crush on Goshiki.

Even teasing him about his own crush on Hinata of all people wasn't enough to deter him. Curse his persistence.

"Soo when are you guys going to go on another date?" asked Yamaguchi, who was laying on his bed while playing Pokémon. Kei promptly rolled onto him, enjoying the groan that came with him settling onto his back. "That's not an answer, Tsukki, and you're not even denyi–"

"It _wasn't_ a date, Yamaguchi." He could practically hear his smile.

"There it is. Was wondering if you heard me or not, or if it really _was_ a–" Kei tugged on his hair, to get him to shut up, maybe even bite his tongue. It didn't work.

"It wasn't, shut the fuck up, Yamaguchi."

He hates the fact that his aggressive pleas never worked on Yamaguchi anymore. "What was it then, if it wasn't a date?"

Kei wracked his brain for any other words. "...An outing."

The way Yamaguchi snorted was not appreciated. "Come on Tsukki, you're not an old man, are you? You're not this proper! Where's that dorky best friend I know and lov–"

Kei hit him lightly on the head this time. "Fine! Fine! We hung out. There. Is that better?"

"So aggressive, Tsukki, boys won't like you if you're so aggressive all the time." Yamaguchi pouted, rubbing the back of his head, but his complaint died down as he turned his head to smile at Kei. He didn't trust that smile.

"...So, when's the next date, huh?"

He hates Yamaguchi, he's decided.

* * *

It wasn't a date, Kei said.

Yet here Goshiki was, waving at him from a two person table inside what is no longer his favorite café, but their favorite café. Granted, yes, one usually does get a two person table when there's only two people hanging out together, but Kei couldn't stop thinking about the implications behind it.

They've been spending time together quite a lot lately, yeah, and at first, it was about volleyball. Kei did his best to teach him, with some help from the neighborhood association team, because there was no way he'd ask for help from any of his teammates, and let them know he was hanging out with a rival. Time had gone on, and soon they stopped talking about volleyball, moving on to other mundane things. Goshiki didn't seem to flirt as much as he did that day, back during the training camp, though. Kei was happy for it, because it meant he didn't have to overthink things, as he does.

But now he looks forward to every message, to every call, to every meeting, to every smile. He was incredibly weak for this boy, that fact, he unfortunately knew very well.

He wonders if it's the same for Goshiki.

Watching him talk animatedly about things that shouldn't matter as much to him as it did, eyes bright, Kei knew he was in trouble. He was always in trouble, thinking about it, but he finds himself yearning for more, yet, as Yamaguchi says, he is a coward and can't help what he does or doesn't do. He's completely hopeless.

"Tsukki," Goshiki says, interrupting his thought process. "Can I steal that?" He licks his lips, pointing to a big strawberry on Kei's mostly untouched shortcake.

His throat goes dry, and he nods dumbly. "Yeah, sure."

He lets Goshiki get away with a lot of things, too. Unfortunately. Hearing him call him Tsukki made his heart flutter, though. It was different from Yamaguchi's, who started calling him that years ago. Different from Kuroo's and Bokuto's, who annoyed him with the nickname that originally belonged to one person alone. Different from Koganegawa's, and Hinata's, who's only done it probably once or twice, and he couldn't get a word in edge-wise. He didn't really care about who calls him it anymore, but Goshiki saying Tsukki was always something different, in the best way possible.

He was weak for him.

* * *

Perhaps, the most fun thing for Kei was seeing his friends' reactions to him and Goshiki, even if it embarrassed him. Goshiki always ends up touching him somehow, whether it's patting his back, leaning on his shoulder, or grabbing his wrist. Even if it frustrated them, he couldn't take all these touches as something more. Goshiki was just an affectionate kind of person, he assumes. Like Yamaguchi.

He enjoys the way they squirm, they being Yamaguchi and Hinata, who have somehow made it their mission to get the two of them together, even though they haven't done so themselves. Kei teases Yamaguchi about this relentlessly, ignoring how he keeps telling him that Goshiki definitely feels something for him. This wasn't about him, in that situation.

The times alone that he gets with Goshiki is definitely the most treasured, because they get to be gentle with each other, and tease each other, all they want. Kei still thinks their friendship is something too precious to break, though.

"Hey," Goshiki starts all of a sudden, as they're walking in a park at dusk, the lamp lights being their only source of vision as the sun began its descent down the sky.

"What is it?" Goshiki seems nervous, and Kei didn't like seeing that frown on his face, worry set into his eyebrows and eyes shimmering like he could cry if he hears something wrong. He's emotional like that, Kei's learned.

"N-No, wait, never mind." He decides, and Kei gets a little annoyed, glancing at him. Goshiki's looking away, his face radiating, and his ears a little red. It wasn't cold, but his hand shivered as he clenched his fist tightly. Kei figures it out pretty fast, despite the thought also making his face heat up.

Kei doesn't say a word, but he moves his right hand to brush against his left, and he feels his eyes on him as he looks pointedly away, face starting to burn. He reaches out with his pinky, finding the other's and linking them together, because he wasn't strong enough to hold his hand. 

He wasn't strong enough, and neither was Goshiki, it seemed, because he just stammered out nonsense, some of which he picked apart to be fragments of his name.

He felt fragile. They both did. If something like this was hard to initiate for Goshiki, Kei would do it instead. But Kei still thinks their fragility matches that of their friendship, despite the thought being even less so, now.

As Goshiki hums to dissipate their nerves, swinging their hands gently back and forth, Kei thinks, perhaps they could make it work sometime in the future. But not now.

**Author's Note:**

> can you believe the last scene was all i could think about and the rest of this just wrote itself


End file.
